Continuous motion packers of the type adapted to handle relatively large plastic soda bottles in two columns are currently available. See for example the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,501 and assigned to the assignee herein. The usefulness of such an apparatus for packing plastic bottles in two or more columns or lanes poses problems for such a packer, and typically, trays for transporting smaller bottles do not have pockets uniformly spaced with respect to one another as do the trays for handling large plastic bottles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,306 entitled CONTINUOUS MOTION PACKER FOR FEEDING CONTAINERS IN END-TO-END PACKING CASES and also assigned to the assignee herein teaches that an apparatus can be provided for handling two side-by-side columns of containers or bottles even where the pockets in which the bottles are to be deposited are not equally spaced in the longitudinal direction. However, as in the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,501 only two side-by-side columns or lanes of plastic soda bottles can be accommodated.
The general purpose of the present invention is to provide a packer capable of handling two or more columns of bottles and depositing such articles into upwardly open plastic cases or trays such that orderly slugs or charges of articles are deposited in each tray as the trays move end-to-end through the load station.